Man is the only animal that laughs and weeps, for he is the only animal that is struck with the difference between what things are and what they ought to be. – William Hazlitt
Poor Rick Santorum. When he isn’t making sure you know gay marriage and adoption are “violations of natural law” (his words) or that the Super Scary Sharia Law is already here, he’s got this small Google problem. Google his last name. Go ahead, but be ready for something pretty gross to read. Actually, you don’t have to Google it, just click here.
He earned thatyears ago. But, now, he started blaming Google themselves, asserting that the company is purposefully letting the search results stand because he’s, yah know, a intolerable, intolerant, bigot.
Well, Rick, it’s not Google. It’s me. And millions like me who think you’re a worthless excuse for a politician and a cog in the machine driving this country into a partisan hell. Congrats on getting one more link to re-enforce your Google problem, you insufferable douche.
Bit of history: I am not your typical leftist-liberal big-union person. In fact, I have issues with a lot of union activities, mostly with union leadership and the ridiculous amount of (perceived and/or real) corruption at the top. Union leadership has, from my admittedly comfortable seats always been the most negative aspect of the modern labor movement. However, corruption hardly requires a union card to happen, as you need only search yourlocalpapertofind.
Despite this early resistance to organized labor, I always respected the right of people to unionize and collectively bargin. I don’t have to agree with them, I don’t even have to support them, but it’s a right earned over many battles with business and government. When measured against the negative, the good done by unions always outweighed the bad. Hell, even Ronald Reagan said “… where free unions and collective bargaining are forbidden, freedom is lost.” (He also said “Government’s first duty is to protect the people, not run their lives,” a point apparently lost on the Governors of a few states.)
I got into a twitter argument with a family member today and one his comments struck me. He said (paraphrasing) they [unions] did not care about the company, only their paychecks. And it struck me that that point was exactly where I turned on the issues currently moving through the political sausage machine in this state right now.
It’s not that they care only about their paychecks, but they do care more about their pay than the company does, that’s their point in existing. But the unspoken aspect of that statement was there as well, that somehow businesses didn’t operate this way. Somehow, businesses are operating in some interest of their employees. Which is a complete and utter lie, sold to workers by cheerful HR folks and corporate propagandists. Businesses don’t care about employees,they care about their bottom lines; they have to. When the finances get tough, employees are the ones made to suffer (and not executives either, it’s you and me, brother). I’ve been through the layoff cycle (three rounds in less than 6 months). Hundreds of employees tossed out on the street because the bottom line needed to be firm.
And union workers took the first hit. Factory workers laid off, lines closed down, the whole thing. And management was terrified. Why? Because the union started grumbling. They never said it, never threatened it, but the word “strike” was always just off to the side of conversations. The next two rounds were white-collar only. And not one management type batted an eye.
Why? Because office workers can’t do the one thing that probably saved more factory jobs. We can’t organize. We can’t protest. We can’t. Say. Shit.
This cycle is happening again in Michigan. Public employees make too much (except they don’t). The Tough Nerd is going to save the state, though. And how is he going to do that? By cutting taxes on businesses, and making the rest of us cover the difference. By giving dictatorial powers to financial managers (who, conveniently can dissolve unions and entire governments if they see fit). Take note, patriots: a governmental body just gave a non-elected position the right and ability to dissolve local governments.
This will become the reverberating refrain for our generation, politicians in the pocket of big business leaving working people holding the bag. It’s the kind of behavior organized people can work to prevent. I may not have agreed or supported unions in the past, but I do today.
Powerful and Continuing Nationalism – Fascist regimes tend to make constant use of patriotic mottos, slogans, symbols, songs, and other paraphernalia. Flags are seen everywhere, as are flag symbols on clothing and in public displays. ::check
Disdain for the Recognition of Human Rights - Because of fear of enemies and the need for security, the people in fascist regimes are persuaded that human rights can be ignored in certain cases because of “need.” The people tend to look the other way or even approve of torture, summary executions, assassinations, long incarcerations of prisoners, etc. ::check
Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause – The people are rallied into a unifying patriotic frenzy over the need to eliminate a perceived common threat or foe: racial , ethnic or religious minorities; liberals; communists; socialists, terrorists, etc. ::big fucking check
Supremacy of the Military – Even when there are widespread domestic problems, the military is given a disproportionate amount of government funding, and the domestic agenda is neglected. Soldiers and military service are glamorized. ::ridiculously enormous check
Rampant Sexism – The governments of fascist nations tend to be almost exclusively male-dominated. Under fascist regimes, traditional gender roles are made more rigid. Divorce, abortion and homosexuality are suppressed and the state is represented as the ultimate guardian of the family institution. ::oh fuck yeah
Controlled Mass Media – Sometimes to media is directly controlled by the government, but in other cases, the media is indirectly controlled by government regulation, or sympathetic media spokespeople and executives. Censorship, especially in war time, is very common. *::ಠ_ಠ *
Obsession with National Security – Fear is used as a motivational tool by the government over the masses. ::oh yeah
Religion and Government are Intertwined – Governments in fascist nations tend to use the most common religion in the nation as a tool to manipulate public opinion. Religious rhetoric and terminology is common from government leaders, even when the major tenets of the religion are diametrically opposed to the government’s policies or actions. ::check
Corporate Power is Protected – The industrial and business aristocracy of a fascist nation often are the ones who put the government leaders into power, creating a mutually beneficial business/government relationship and power elite. ::Fuckin’ A
Labor Power is Suppressed – Because the organizing power of labor is the only real threat to a fascist government, labor unions are either eliminated entirely, or are severely suppressed. ::watched the news lately?
Disdain for Intellectuals and the Arts – Fascist nations tend to promote and tolerate open hostility to higher education, and academia. It is not uncommon for professors and other academics to be censored or even arrested. Free expression in the arts and letters is openly attacked. ::check
Obsession with Crime and Punishment – Under fascist regimes, the police are given almost limitless power to enforce laws. The people are often willing to overlook police abuses and even forego civil liberties in the name of patriotism. There is often a national police force with virtually unlimited power in fascist nations. ::check
Rampant Cronyism and Corruption – Fascist regimes almost always are governed by groups of friends and associates who appoint each other to government positions and use governmental power and authority to protect their friends from accountability. It is not uncommon in fascist regimes for national resources and even treasures to be appropriated or even outright stolen by government leaders. ::check
Fraudulent Elections – Sometimes elections in fascist nations are a complete sham. Other times elections are manipulated by smear campaigns against or even assassination of opposition candidates, use of legislation to control voting numbers or political district boundaries, and manipulation of the media. Fascist nations also typically use their judiciaries to manipulate or control elections. ::Well, what do you know?
Not only is it “okay” to call the Republicans fascist, it’s getting kind of redundant and obvious to do so.
Michigan is a battleground in a fight for the soul of America.
The latest hot-button issue in Chelsea (brace yourself) is the building of a new Police station. The current station is infested with rodents and black mold, undersized, and generally not the kind of place anyone, much less a police department, should be working in.
But that won’t stop the NIMBYs from rallying around… their property values. Nope; this middle-class town can’t see past its own yard to fund a new station, with City Council chambers, for a growing city. They’re not even hiding it:
Robert Daniel, who lives within a block of the proposed location.
He admitted opposition started because he and other neighbors didn’t want a police station “in their back yard.”
You even used the words? Come on.
Nevermind that the City has been trying to get this station built since 1993. 17 years. And where would this site be? 305 S Main St. On the busiest street in town, at the current site of the City offices. You know, the street that is backed up from 3:30 to 6 pm every weekday. The street that every emergency vehicle going to or from Chelsea Hospital or I-94 uses every single day. But the opposition group cites “traffic concerns”.
As a voting citizen, I resent having City services hampered by a group who has a conflict of interest in the construction of a new station, who then cloaks that interest in the guise of fiscal responsibility. Their opposition is only adding expense as, now, the City has been tossed into yet another legal battle with its own citizens.
I urge City Council to ignore the planning commission’s vote and issue the $2.5 million in bonds needed to move the project forward. And if this issue does go to a vote, you can be sure I’ll be whipping up support in favor of it.
If only more politicians would tell these idiots off. The thought process that leads anyone to equate any President with Hitler surely is a process which only bolsters the need for more coverage in this country. Obviously, we are not servicing the mental health needs of our fellow citizens.
While this feels like feeding the trolls, here we go…
The National Organization for Marriage, in case you’ve been living under a rock, recently started their campaign to “defend” marriage. As with many cultural issues, this one is another case study in logical fallacies, a complete misunderstand of one’s own belief system, and reasoning so flawed it would be hilarious if they weren’t dead serious.
This video (I refuse to embed it) is making the rounds, with the kind of fearmongering usually reserved for Those People. With a host of actors, NOM insinuates all kinds of tragedy and falsehoods about what “gay marriage” would cause. My favorite is the argument that, because a same-sex couple may be married, a doctor somehow has to make some awful choice between faith and profession. Here’s a quick reference line for later, doc (who’s not actually a doctor, BTW): If you have a hard time choosing between what’s right medically or morally and what’s preached on Sunday for anyone, you may have chosen the wrong profession.
But my favorite portion on NOM is the FAQ on their site. With language like “threaten marriage” or “San Francisco-style judges” or making a clear distinction between “moms and dads” and “parents”, the page reads like the dance instruction pattern for How to Tap-dance Around My Bigotry.
I was going to do a point-by-point, but frankly I want to say a couple things and then be done.
Recent articles in the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek discussed the recent declines in religious worship and participation in the church. National Organization for Marriage, you are the poster child for why this is happening. You are the latest face of a sect in this country that has perverted faith and belief into a discriminatory political force. You are the people that have turned a large portion of an entire generation against the very ideals you claim to support because your message is filled with hate, and bile, and lies. You are the smirking face of bigotry which claims, like a child caught in a lie, that that wasn’t really what you meant.
You are, in short, doomed to irrelevance in a world that will cease to care about you or your cause. It will take a while because, like all hysterical ninnies who refuse to grow up, we–my generation–will have to force you into tolerance, much as our parents’ generation forced the bigots before you to accept civil rights.
Let me explain why you’re doomed, because I think you’re not sure. From Progressive States:
Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal has gained some well-deserved youtube stardom for his extremely thoughtful remarks on the Senate floor. Responding to a request to suspend the rules and co-sponsor a leadership bill to amend the state constitution to overturn the decision, Majority Leader Gronstal replied:
“One of my daughters was in the workplace one day, and her particular workplace at that moment in time there were a whole bunch of conservative, older men. And those guys were talking about gay marriage. They were talking about discussions going on across the country. And my daughter Kate, after listening to it for about 20 minutes, said to them: ‘You guys don’t understand. You’ve already lost. My generation doesn’t care.’ I think I learned something from my daughter that day, when she said that. [Watch the video here or by clicking on the image above.]
Support for marriage equality has been growing among the whole population, but the fact is that a clear majority of Americans age 18-34 support same-sex marriage by a margin of 51-40 according to a December 2008 Newsweek poll (reflecting many other surveys), meaning that when it comes to full equality for GLBT Americans the question is not if, but when.
Your actions cement that future every day because you turn people like me into advocates.
Or to put all that more succinctly: “There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old’s life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world. The other, of course, involves orcs.”
RSS
Twitter